[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 115 (Friday, June 14, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27830-27831]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-12589]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket No. USTR-2019-0001]
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Notice Regarding the
2019 GSP Annual Product Review
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice of hearing and requests to testify and for public
comments.
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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR)
has accepted petitions submitted in connection with the 2019 GSP Annual
Product Review for further review. This notice includes the schedule
for submission of public comments and the date of a public hearing to
review these petitions and products by the GSP Subcommittee of the
Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC).
DATES:
June 26, 2019 at midnight EDT: Deadline for submission of comments,
pre-hearing briefs, and requests to appear at the GSP Subcommittee
Public Hearing on the 2019 GSP Annual Product Review.
July 2, 2019 at 1:30 p.m. EDT: The GSP Subcommittee will convene a
public hearing on all petitioned product additions, product removals,
and competitive needs limitation (CNL) waiver petitions that it
accepted for the 2019 GSP Annual Product Review. The hearing will be in
Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20508, beginning at
1:30 p.m.
August 15, 2019 at midnight EDT: Deadline for submission of post-
hearing comments or briefs in connection with the GSP Subcommittee
Public Hearing.
September 7, 2019: USTR expects that the U.S. International Trade
Commission (USITC) will deliver a report to USTR providing advice on
the probable economic effects of adding products to GSP eligibility,
removing products from GSP eligibility, and granting CNL waiver
petitions during the 2019 GSP Annual Product Review. Interested parties
can post comments on the USITC report on www.regulations.gov using
Docket Number USTR-2019-0001 (instructions for submissions are provided
below). Comments are due ten calendar days after the publication date
of the USITC's public report.
November 1, 2019: Effective date for any modifications that the
President proclaims to the list of articles eligible for duty-free
treatment under GSP resulting from the 2019 GSP Annual Product Review
and for determinations related to CNL waivers.
ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made through
the Federal Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov, using
docket number USTR-2019-0001. Follow the instructions for submitting
comments in ``Requirements for Submissions'' below. For alternatives to
on-line submissions, please contact Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395-3475.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erland Herfindahl, Deputy Assistant
USTR for GSP, 1724 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20508. The telephone
number is (202) 395-2974 and the email address is [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Background
The GSP program provides for the duty-free importation of
designated articles when imported from designated beneficiary
developing countries. The GSP program is authorized by Title V of the
Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461-2467), as amended, and is implemented
in accordance with Executive Order 11888 of November 24, 1975, as
[[Page 27831]]
modified by subsequent Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations.
B. Petitions Requesting Modifications of GSP Product Eligibility
In a notice published in the Federal Register on March 25, 2019 (84
FR 11150), USTR announced the 2019 GSP Annual Product Review and
indicated that the GSP Subcommittee was prepared to receive petitions
to modify the list of products that are eligible for duty-free
treatment under the GSP program and petitions to waive CNLs on imports
of certain products from specific beneficiary countries. The GSP
Subcommittee has reviewed the product and CNL waiver petitions
submitted in response to these announcements, and has decided to accept
for review several petitions seeking to: Remove products from GSP
eligibility for certain GSP beneficiary countries; waive certain CNLs;
and redesignate certain products to GSP eligibility for certain GSP
beneficiary countries.
USTR posted a list of petitions and products accepted for review at
https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/preference-programs/generalized-system-preferences-gsp/current-reviews/2019-annual under the title ``Petitions
Accepted in the 2019 GSP Annual Product Review.'' You also can find
this list at www.regulations.gov in Docket Number USTR-2019-0001.
Acceptance indicates only that the TPSC found that the subject petition
warranted further consideration and that a review of the requested
action will take place.
The GSP Subcommittee invites public comments on any petition it has
accepted for the 2019 GSP Annual Product Review. Public comments are
due on June 26, 2019, at midnight EDT. The GSP Subcommittee also will
convene a public hearing on these products and petitions. See below for
information on how to submit a request to testify at this hearing.
C. Notice of Public Hearing for the GSP Product Review
The GSP Subcommittee will hold a hearing on July 2, 2019, beginning
at 1:30 p.m., for products and petitions accepted for the 2019 GSP
Annual Product Review. The hearing will be held at 1724 F Street NW,
Washington, DC 20508 and will be open to the public. USTR will make a
transcript of the hearing available on www.regulations.gov
approximately two weeks after the hearing date.
All interested parties wishing to make an oral presentation at the
hearing must submit, following the ``Requirements for Submissions''
below, the name, address, telephone number, and email address (if
available), of the witness(es) representing their organization by
midnight, June 26, 2019. Requests to present oral testimony in
connection with the public hearing must include a written brief or
summary statement, in English, which you also must submit by midnight,
June 26, 2019. Oral testimony before the GSP Subcommittee will be
limited to five-minute presentations that summarize or supplement
information contained in briefs or statements submitted for the record.
USTR will accept post-hearing briefs or statements that conform to the
regulations cited below and you submit, in English, by midnight, August
15, 2019. Parties not wishing to appear at the public hearing may
submit pre-hearing and post-hearing briefs or comments by the
aforementioned deadlines.
D. Requirements for Submissions
You must submit requests to testify, written comments, and pre-
hearing and post-hearing briefs by the applicable deadlines set forth
in this notice. You must make all submissions in English via http://www.regulations.gov, using Docket Number USTR-2019-0001. USTR will not
accept hand-delivered submissions. To make a submission using http://www.regulations.gov, enter the appropriate docket number in the `search
for' field on the home page and click `search.' The site will provide a
search-results page listing all documents associated with this docket.
Find a reference to this notice by selecting `notice' under `document
type' in the `filter results by' section on the left side of the screen
and click on the link entitled `comment now.' The regulations.gov
website offers the option of providing comments by filling in a `type
comment' field or by attaching a document using the `upload file(s)'
field. The GSP Subcommittee prefers that you provide submissions in an
attached document and note `see attached' in the `type comment' field
on the online submission form. At the beginning of the submission, or
on the first page (if an attachment) include the following text (in
bold and underlined): (1) ``2019 GSP Annual Product Review''; (2) the
subject matter or the product description and related HTS tariff
number; and (3) whether the document is a `written comment', `notice of
intent to testify,' `pre-hearing brief,' or `post-hearing brief.'
Submissions should not exceed thirty single-spaced, standard letter-
size pages in twelve-point type, including attachments. Include any
data attachments to the submission in the same file as the submission
itself, and not as separate files.
You will receive a tracking number upon completion of the
submission procedure at http://www.regulations.gov. The tracking number
is confirmation that regulations.gov received the submission. Keep the
confirmation for your records. USTR is not able to provide technical
assistance for the website. USTR may not consider documents you do not
submit in accordance with these instructions. If you are unable to
provide submissions as requested, please contact the GSP Program at
USTR to arrange for an alternative method of transmission.
E. Business Confidential Submissions
If you ask USTR to treat information you submitted as business
confidential information (BCI), you must certify that the information
is business confidential and you would not customarily release it to
the public. You must clearly designate BCI by marking the submission
``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top and bottom of the cover page and
each succeeding page, and indicating, via brackets, the specific
information that is BCI. Additionally, you must include `Business
Confidential' in the `type comment' field. For any submission
containing BCI, you must separately submit a non-confidential version,
i.e., not as part of the same submission with the confidential version,
indicating where BCI has been redacted. USTR will post the non-
confidential version in the docket and it will be open to public
inspection.
F. Public Viewing of Review Submissions
Submissions in response to this notice, except for information
granted business confidential status under 15 CFR 2003.6, will be
available for public viewing pursuant to 15 CFR 2007.6 at http://www.regulations.gov upon completion of processing, usually within two
weeks of the relevant due date or date of the submission. USTR will
make public versions of all documents relating to these reviews
available for public viewing in Docket Number USTR-2019-0001 at http://www.regulations.gov upon completion of processing.
Erland Herfindahl,
Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Generalized System
of Preferences, Office of the United States Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2019-12589 Filed 6-13-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F9-P